Papers Relating to Foreign Affairs: Accompanying the Annual Message of the ...

Vtrhereas, by the Constitution of the United States, the executive power is vested in a President of the United States of America, who is bound by solemn oath faithfully to execute the oflice of President, and to the. best of his ability to preserve, protect, and defend the Constition of the United States, and is by the same instrument made commander-in-eh_ief of the army anid navy of the United States, and is required to take care that the laws be faithfully execute ;

And whereas, by the same Constitution, it is provided that the said Constitution and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof shall be the supreme law of the land, and the judges in every State shal be bound thereby;

And whereas, in and by the same Constitution, the judicial power of the United States is vested in one Supreme Court and in such inferior courts as Congress may, from time to time, ordain and establish, and the aforesaid judicial power is declared to extend to all cases in law and equity arising 'under the Constitution, the laws of the United States, and the treaties which shall be made under theirauthority;

And whereas, all oflieers, civil and military, are bound by oath that they will support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, forgn and domestic, and will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; '

And whereas all otficers of the army and navy of the United States, in accepting their commissions under the laws of Congress and the rules and articles of war, incur an oblige‘tion to observe, obey, and follow such directions as they shall from time to time receive from the President or the General, or other superior oflicers set over them, according to the rules and discipline of war;

And whereas it is provided by law that whenever, by reason of unlawful obstructions, combinations, or assemblages of persons, or rebellion against the authority of the government of the United States, it shall become impracticable, in the judgment of the President of the United States, to enforce, by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, the laws of the United States within any State or Territory, the Executive in that case is authorized and required to secure their faithful execution by the employment of the land and naval forces;

And whereas impediments and obstructions, serious in their character, have recently been interposed in the States of North Carolina and South Carolina, hindering and preventing

~ for a time the proper enforcement there of the laws of the United States, and of the judg

ments and decrees of a lawful court thereof, in disregard of the command of the President of the United States;

And whereas reasonable and well-founded apprehensions exist that such ill-advised and unlawful proceedings may be again attempted there or elsewhere 2

Now. therefore, 1, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do hereby warn all persons against obstructing or hindering in any manner whatsoever the faithful execution of the Constitution and the laws; and 1 do solemnly enjoin and command all oflicers of the government, civil and military, to render due submission and obedience to said laws, and to the judgments and decrees of the courts of the United States, and to give all the aid in their power necessary to the prompt enforcement and execution of such laws, decrees, judgments, and processes. '

And I do hereby enjoin upon the ofiicers of the army and navy to assist and sustain the courts and other civil authorities of the United States in a faithful administration of the laws thereof, and in the judgments, decrees, mandates, and processes of the courts of the United States ; and I call upon all good and well-disposed citizens of the United States to remember that upon the said Constitution and laws, and upon the judgments, decrees, and processes of the courts made in accordance with the same, depend the protection of the lives, liberty, property, and happiness of the people. And I exhort them everywhere to testify their_devotion to their country, their pride in its prosperity and greatness, and their determination to uphold its free institutions by a hearty co-operation in the efforts of the government to sustain the authority of the law, to maintainghe supremacy of the federal Constitution, and to preserve unimpaired the integrity of the national Union.

In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United States to be affixed to these presents, and sign the same with my hand.

Done at the city of Washington, the third day of September, in the year one thousand

eight hundred and sixty-seven. ANDREW JOHNSON.

By the President: WILLIAM H. Sawnnn, Secretary of State.

Zlfr. Adams to Mr. Seward.

No. 1442.] LEGATION or THE UNITED STATES, London, September 6, 1867.

SIR: I have the honor to inform you that on the 24th_of August I received from Mr. Raymond, consul at Leeds, information that an attempt was making in Hull to put in circulation counterfeit notes of the United States, and asking instructions what to do. I immediately directed an investigation to be made, which produced a. reply transmitting to me one of the two-dollar notes, and also stating that the source of the issue had been discovered.

Mr. Raymond beiIIg about to return home on leave of absence, requested me to communicate directly with Mr. Atkinson, his consular agent at Hull. I did so at once, authorizing him to pursue the investigation, and, if proof could be had, to prosecute the guilty parties. He reports‘ to me on the 3d and 4th instant that a woman named Meanna Jackon had been taken before a magistrate for examination. She had, in her teflimony, involved a man named Hoffman, against whom a warrant has accordingly been issued. The material part of her

statement was that Hoffman had received the notes from New York. It remains _

to be seen whether Hoffman himself will be found to confirm it. I shall send a copy of his testimony so soon as I receive it. The note sent to me is so poorly executed that I should scarcely suppose any attempt would be made to utter it in America. Here, of course, it could gain no circulation. I have taken the responsibility to prosecute the matter at the expense of the government, rather as an early preventive measure than with any idea that it could itself do much harm. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. Hon. WILLIAM H. SI-IWARIJ, Secretary (If State, Washington, D. C.

No. 1443.] LEGATION or THE UNITED STATES, London, September 7, 1867.

SIR: I have to acknowledge the reception of despatches from the department ‘

numbered from 2045 to 2O47Uinclusive.

There is little or nothing happening, at this the most quiet season of the year, in this capital. The ministers are generally in the country as usual, while the business of the departments is in the care of the assistants.

‘ The military expedition to Abyssinia for the purpose of rescuing the English subjects imprisoned by King Theodore is in the process of organization. The aflirmation which came from Constantinople that they had been liberated, does not appear to have been confirmed from more direct sources. I have the honor to be. sir, your obedient servant,

. CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD,

Secretary of State, lVas7zz'ngt0n, D. C.

SIR : With a view to the better understanding of the merits of the cases of such persons, claiming to be citizens of the United States, as ‘may have been or may hereafter be arrested in Great Britain, upon charges or suspicion of complicity in hostile proceedings against that government, you are requested to do what may be practicable towards having this department furnished promptly, through our consuls or otherwise, with a. copy in each case of the minutes of any judicial proceedings or examinations which may be held.

Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward.

No. 1447.] LEGATION or THE UNITED STATES, ' ' London, September 13, 1867.

SIR : In connection with my despatches Nos. 1430 and 1439, I have the honor now to report that Lord Stanley, the day after returning to the city, granted me an interview which took place on Tuesday last, the 10th instant.

I read to him your despatch No. 2037, and consented to his taking a copy of it. He said that his first impression was that the terms furnished a practicable mode of arriving at some agreement. But it would be necessary for him to consider maturely the language of the fourth and sixth paragraphs, as well as to consult more or less with his colleagues, before he could give a definite

answer. It was clear to him that there must be some limit applied to the field of arbi

tration, or it would be impossible to find an umpire. But with any proper share of confidence in the selection, it might be perhaps possible to trust the performance of that task to his own judgment.

I remarked that this suggestion certainly seemed to present a practicable way out of the main difficulty.

He then made some general and informal reference to the rangeiof selection of such a power. It seemed desirable to choose from the chief powers of the

' world. Of these he had thought of four. VVith regard to one of them, he pre' sumed that late circumstances would not render it agreeable to the United

States to think of him. On the other hand, there might be an impression, whether well or ill-founded, he did not say, among his own countrymen, that another would not be in a perfectly impartial frame of mind. Hence there

remained the two German powers, either of whom appeared to occupy a sufliciently favorable position.

I replied that I believed our relations with both of them were on so friendly a footing that I saw no obstacle at this moment to our consent to the selection of either.

His lordship ended by saying that he really was now in hopes that the matter might be arranged. He should endeavor not to take a great while in preparing a re 1 .

SIR: Having received from Mr. West, the consul at Dublin, :1 report of the condition and treatment of Colonel Nagle, which seemed to me unreasonably ‘ harsh, I did not await for a response to the second representation made by him to the authorities, but at once addressed a note to Lord Stanley on the subject, a copy of which I have the honor to-transmit.

The morning after that was despatched, I received your telegram on the same subject, calling upon me to renew my urgency for the release of both Colonel Nagle and Colonel Warren.

I have, in accordance with your desire, addressed a note to Lord Stanley, a copy of which I have the honor to transmit.

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,

CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. Hon. WILLIAM H. Sawann,

Secretary qf State, Washington, D. C.

Mr. Adams to Lord Stanley.

LEGATION on THE UNITED Smrns, London, September 11, 1867.

MY LORD: It is reported to me by the consul of_ the United States at Dublin, that he

' finds in the case of Colonel William J. Nagle, a native American citizen, now confined in

prison in Kilmainharn jail, on suspicion ofcomplieity with hostile designs against her Majesty’s government, that there is reasonable cause of complaint on the score of the severity of his treatment. He is kept in close confinement in a narrow cell for 22 hours out of the 24, bound to preserve strict silence all the time. The eflect of this course has been already materially to depress him in spirits and in health.

It is alleged, in justifieation of this course, that it is in conformity with the system of rules established in that prison for all persons there confined, to which I would beg permission to observe that surely there should be some distinction preserved between persons confined on suspicion, without any offence proved against them in due course of law, and th(lJ1se;1 who are subjected to a penalty for their ofl'ence after their guilt has been fully establis e . '

I have received from my government very strong instructions to do all in my power in behalf of Colonel Nagle, on account of the services rendered by him and several brothers during the late difficulties in America, as well as of his character as a. citizen. I cannot but permit myself to hope that he may at least have an opportunity early afforded him of being put on his trial for any offence he may have committed. At the same time, I have _ thus far forborne to press the case on your lordship’s attention, in the hope that the representations already made, and still pending at Dublin, may yet meet with favorable notice. Meanwhile, however, I would pray your lordship’s aid to procure some alleviation of the alleged harshness of his treatment. '

I pray your lordship, &e.', &c., _ CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS.

Right Hon. Loan STANLEY, 8ye., 8;-0., 8;c.

Mr. Adams to Lord Stanley.

Lsoxrron or-' THE UNITED Smrss, London, September 13, 1867.

MY LORD: Since the despatch of my note to your lordship of the 1ltl1 instant, in regard to the case of Colonel Ne le, I have received from my government special instructions to urge the early release both of that gentleman and of his companion in prison, Colonel Warren. \Vhs.tever may have been the purposes of those gentlemen in coming to Ireland, on which I am not called to give any opinion, it is quite clear at least to me that they could not have committed any act of hostility to her Majesty’s government within her jurisdiction which would fairly subject them to the probability of condemnation, if tried in a. court of justice, Hence it is hoped that the confinement and severe treatment to which they have already been subjected may be regarded as sufficient penalty'f0r anything they might even be suspected to have intended to do, to entitle them to arelease at an early day.

I pray your lordship to accept, &c., &c., &c., CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS.

Right Hon. LORD STANLEY, &c., &c., &c.

Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward.

No. 1453.] LEGATION or THE UNITED STATES, London, September 14, 1867.

SIR: In connection with my despatch No. 1442 of the 6th instant, I now have the honor to transmit a report from Mr. Atkinson at Hull, of the further proceedings in the case of Hoffman, to whom the counterfeit notes of the United States had been traced. It would seem that he received them in exchange, as he says, in good faith, from a seaman on board of the steamer Atlantic. The matter is therefore closed on this side of the water. Possibly it might be traced further in New York.

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,

CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. Hon. Wll.LlAM H SEWARD,

Secretary of State, Washington, D. (7.

Mr. Atkinson to Mr. Adams.

CONSULAR AGENCY or‘ THE UNITED STATES, Hull, September 13, 1867.

SIR: Referring to mine of the 4th instant, I have now to enclose a letter from Messrs. Rollit & Son, solicitors, reporting the result of the examination of the prisoner Hoffman. I also enclose copy of correspondence, giving the information obtained at Bremerhaven reslpecting this man. re et that I am not able to carry this matter further, but have done my best; and I

trust t at the action taken here will have a tendency to prevent further attempts of a similar nature.

DEAR SIR: Our inquiries in Bicmen tend so strongly to the conclusion that the prisoner Hoffman was an innocent utterer of the counterfeit notes, that we have thought it our duty to assent to his discharge. The charge against Means. Jackson was also withdrawn. I enclose